A History of Victorian Hats

十二月 15th, 2015 ok

When we think of Victorian hats, we tend to think of extravagant hats with feathers and lace and ribbons. However, these hats are more indicative of the late Victorian era instead of the era as a whole. Remember, the era itself was almost one-hundred years long, and the styles were bound to change throughout the period. And, they did. There are many fashions that we don’t recognize as Victorian at all, even though they were worn during a significant portion of the era. Here, we have provided a detailed history of Victorian Hats.

Bonnets were widely in style during the start of the Victorian era. These could be fashioned from straw or silk or any material in between, but the most important part of these Victorian hats was the wide brim. These brims were meant to mirror the wide hoop skirts and other clothes of the era. The exaggerated nature of Victorian clothes definitely worked its way into the hats, as some hats were so narrow that the faces of the women who wore them could only be seen from the front. The back of the neck was often covered by a large frill because the neck was considered an especially sexual part of the body. Then, as parasols became more fashionable, bonnets became less functional to keep off wind. More ornamental hats like fanchons, which were extremely small, triangular hats, became more popular. As the Victorian era neared its end, both fanchons and bonnets were still popular styles. Fanchons were flashier, while bonnets were a bit more modest. During the Edwardian era, hats brims grew again and balanced out the slimmer silhouettes of gowns.

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